Читать книгу Respect the Dead - Shawn McLain - Страница 24

Devin stared down to the phone in his hand without really seeing it. He had been trying to get a hold of his wife for the last half hour. His thumb hovered over the call button. He pressed it without thinking about it. He hadn’t been able to reach her the last two dozen times why should this be different?

His attention was drawn back to the traffic cameras. The crowd in central park had grown over the last few minutes. Cars were speeding down the road. The drivers were erratic driving wild with no regard for the pedestrians. There had been several near misses already along with several not misses. Those who got either hit skidding along the pavement or went flailing through the air. The result of each incident was the same. The person would lie motionless for a moment, then get up, or crawl or stumble. Limbs would be at weird angles, legs and arms not working or completely missing. This is what caught Devin’s attention. A car had just flown through the intersection throwing a small person cart wheeling over it.

“Hello? Devin?” He jumped at the sound quickly putting the phone to his ear.

“Cheryl?” Relief flooded over him.

“Devin what is going on?” Her voice was strained holding more than a hint of panic.

He pulled the phone from his ear closing his eyes. His heart ached. Biting his lip he returned the phone to his ear. Fear threatened to overtake him. “Honey listen, and don’t ask questions just do what I say please! Get the girls and get out of town. Go to your mother’s in Altoona.”

“Why what is going on?” She frantically asked.

“Please, just go. Things are going crazy. I want you and the girls out of…” Devin’s attention was drawn back to the central park camera. The phone slowly dropped from his ear. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A car careened around a corner straight into the crowd.

Several people were thrown through the air. Several others in the park fell like dominoes, others sliding across the grass. Just as before they all just got back up like nothing had happened. Except this time they all began to converge on the car. Devin watched as the crowd began attacking the vehicle.

The driver was trying to back up but he didn’t seem to be gaining any traction. Then the wheels found traction. The driver gave it too much gas. The car swerved smashing into a tree. He tried to drive his smoking car through the crowd.

He was driving into a wall of people. They barely moved piling up on the hood or falling under the wheels. Devin half rose from his chair. The phone forgotten in his hand. He cried out when the driver’s window was smashed. There was nothing he could do but watch as the driver was ripped from the car. The passenger door was wrenched open. Someone was trying to run but they overwhelmed by the mass of people who instantly surrounded her.

“Devin! Devin what is going on?” Cheryl cried.

“Oh sweet Mother of Pearl!” Devin exclaimed as he watched the crowd rip the driver and passenger to pieces.

“Devin! What it is? What is going on? Devin answer me!” Cheryl was truly in a state of panic now.

Returning the phone to his ear, “get the girls and get out of town NOW!” Devin yelled as he watched the parts of the passenger being dragged in different directions from the car. Sinking back into a chair he thanked god there was no sound with the picture. Putting his hand to his face he felt drained and defeated.

“Cheryl, I love you. Tell the girls I love them and I’ll see them at grandmas.” Devin muttered into the phone.

“Devin, what is going on? Come home we’ll leave together.” His wife half wept.

“Please honey. Go now, while you still can. I love you.” Devin spoke into the phone his heart breaking as he did. He knew he couldn’t make it home. All his routes were blocked; everywhere he looked there were people in the streets running.

“I will see you at your mother’s, I promise.” He lied.

“I love you.” His wife’s voice hitched as she called for the girls.

He heard his youngest, “Mommy there is a man at the door, he looks hurt.” Like ice water pouring down his spine Devin pictured a bloody man at the screen door. He heard his daughter’s scream and the phone clattered to the floor.

“Cheryl! Cheryl!” Devin screamed into the phone jumping to his feet. “CHERYL!” There was no one on the other end. All he could hear was banging shouting and the the diminishing sound of someone running away.

“Cheryl…” He moaned into the phone. Hanging up quickly he tried to call his house again. All he heard was a recorded voice telling him all circuits were busy. He tried his wife’s phone, nothing. He tried his oldest daughter’s phone hearing only the same recorded voice telling him all circuits were busy.

Sinking back into the chair all he could do was pray his family made it out of the house and was alright. A feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him as he looked from the useless phone to the monitors. The bridge out of town to the highway was clogged with cars, none of them seemed to be moving. Devin did something he hadn’t done since the birth of his first child.

“Damn it!” he screams as his phone flew across the room, smashing against the cinder block wall.